Accounting for the tremendous volume of goods flowing through a transportation system on a daily basis creates a significant logistical challenge. As a result, tracking and visibility systems play an integral part in most transportation systems by allowing both customers and transportation personnel to track the flow of goods. However, despite the existence of such prior art systems, items flowing through a transportation system are, on occasion, still delivered to a location later than expected, mis-delivered to an incorrect address, and even lost (or stolen) somewhere along the way. These and other such mishaps can be particularly troubling when the item being shipped is considered a “high-value” item, based on either its relative importance to the shipper or on its raw economic value. Examples of high-value items can include shipments of diamonds, computer chips, cars or sensitive documents, to name just a few.
For the most part, item tracking services known in the art are passive in the sense that they are generally not designed to address the types of problems discussed above. For example, if an item is delivered to an address different from where it was shipped, such as may occur when an item is delivered to the correct street but the wrong number, to the wrong street but the correct number, or to the wrong street and the wrong number, such a problem may go undetected until a shipper or consignee calls to inquire about the whereabouts of the item. By then, however, a substantial amount of time may have passed during which transportation and security personnel could have been looking into the problem. This delay often reduces the likelihood of being able to correct the problem. For example, in some cases, a consignee who actually received the mis-delivered item may later deny having ever received it.
Furthermore, while it may sometimes be possible to ship an item via special shipping channels that incorporate more stringent security measures, doing so may not always be desirable. For example, by shipping the item via special shipping channels, the shipper may in effect be identifying the item to would-be criminals as a high-value item. Thus, in some cases, it may actually be safer to ship the item via standard means so that the item does not stand out as an item of particular value in the various shipping yards, hub locations and other transport points, which the item is likely to pass through.
Therefore, an unsatisfied need exists in the industry for improved systems and methods for monitoring whether an item is properly delivered to a designated delivery point that overcomes deficiencies in the prior art, some of which are discussed above.